Adolphe Braun, originally a textile designer from the Alsace region of France, left that field after the success of his photographic still-lifes. Braun’s still-lifes, some 300 of them, were created to aid designers and artists who were interested in accurately rendering foliage and flowers on fabrics and furnishings.

In one of these studies, Fruit Tree Blossoms, Braun carefully arranged a bouquet so that the flowers face forward while the overall design remains spontaneous and natural. Braun’s technical achievement—particularly the sharp contrast of the foliage against the neutral background—stood out among that of his contemporaries.